StockNews.com Downgrades Expedia Group (NASDAQ:EXPE) to Buy

Expedia Group (NASDAQ:EXPE) was downgraded by investment analysts at StockNews.com from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report released on Friday.

A number of other research firms have also recently issued reports on EXPE. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on shares of Expedia Group from $219.00 to $183.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Susquehanna cut their price objective on shares of Expedia Group from $205.00 to $175.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 12th. DA Davidson increased their price objective on shares of Expedia Group from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Benchmark cut their price objective on shares of Expedia Group from $225.00 to $215.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Expedia Group from $205.00 to $211.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have assigned a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $186.35.

Expedia Group Stock Performance

Shares of EXPE opened at $166.66 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.62. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $160.47 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $176.04. Expedia Group has a 12 month low of $107.25 and a 12 month high of $207.73.

Expedia Group (NASDAQ:EXPE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The online travel company reported $0.40 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $2.99 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.02 billion. Expedia Group had a net margin of 9.01% and a return on equity of 52.41%. The business’s revenue was up 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.21 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Expedia Group will post 12.28 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Expedia Group

In other news, insider Robert J. Dzielak sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $205.70, for a total transaction of $1,028,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 74,502 shares in the company, valued at $15,325,061.40. This trade represents a 6.29% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 6.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Expedia Group

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its stake in shares of Expedia Group by 17.8% during the 4th quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 30,744 shares of the online travel company’s stock worth $5,729,000 after purchasing an additional 4,656 shares during the last quarter. Teamwork Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Expedia Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,791,000. Clare Market Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Expedia Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $319,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Expedia Group by 17.8% during the 4th quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 60,003 shares of the online travel company’s stock worth $11,180,000 after purchasing an additional 9,086 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cigna Investments Inc. New purchased a new stake in shares of Expedia Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $238,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.76% of the company’s stock.

About Expedia Group

Expedia Group, Inc operates as an online travel company in the United States and internationally. The company operates through B2C, B2B, and trivago segments. Its B2C segment includes Brand Expedia, a full-service online travel brand offers various travel products and services; Hotels.com for lodging accommodations; Vrbo, an online marketplace for the alternative accommodations; Orbitz, Travelocity, Wotif Group, ebookers, CheapTickets, Hotwire.com and CarRentals.com.